The invention relates to a process for ultrasonic testing of elongated, prism-shaped sections with at least one planar outer surface extending along the longitudinal axis of the section, in particular bar sections and tubes, to detect material defects or to verify the geometric data of the sections, and to a device for carrying out this testing process. In the process, the section to be tested is exposed to ultrasonic beams from several ultrasonic probes installed in a probe carrier. The section is moved along its longitudinal axis in relation to the probe carrier.
The testing of elongated, rotationally symmetrical workpieces with rotating ultrasonic probes installed in a rotor is a generally-known process. However, the current state of the art for the testing of elongated, prism-shaped sections employs a simple translation movement between the probe carrier and the section to be tested.
Generally, in this method, only a small portion of the entire cross-sectional area of the section is actually tested; in most cases, a central beam scans the central area of the section, because the probability of finding faults there is relatively high. However, this approach does not provide satisfactory information on freedom from defects across the entire cross-sectional area of the section (and thus in its entire volume). The process according to the current state of the art is also very costly and involved, because a separate set of probes is required for each planar outer surface, and the setup of the testing apparatus must also be completely changed before new sections with different geometry or dimensions can be tested. In the current state of the art, this is achieved by mounting special test assemblies for each section type to be tested. This approach is both cost-intensive and labour-intensive.
Elongated, prism-shaped sections are defined as bodies whose length is significantly longer than the dimensions of their cross-section and whose cross-sectional area is constant over their entire length. In practical applications, the majority of sections to be tested are square or hexagonal and made of solid material; however, the process described at the outset can also be used for testing tubing and rod material with other cross-sections, for example rolled sections, extruded aluminum sections, plastic sections and so on.
On the basis of the process and device of the type described at the outset, the problem of the invention was to achieve a significant increase in the volume percentage covered by the test and a significant reduction in the amount of work required in order to reset the device and test different sections.